Are they Huaqiao or Huaren?
A brief discussion of the general attributes of the Chinese in the Netherlands
The Chinese, with their ubiquitous restaurants, form a socially visible sector in the Netherlands. Especially since the 1980s, their migration history, their cultural background, and the path their future development will take have been attracting some attention from Dutch society. What are the general attributes of the Chinese in the Netherlands? Are they Huaqiao or Huaren? As I present my study of the Chinese associations in the Netherlands, why do I prefer to use the concept of 'Chinese immigrants' to designate my study target?Li Minghuan
In China, the common terms used to designate compatriots abroad are Huaqiao, Huaren, or Huaqiao-Huaren; sometimes Huayi is included. To help Western readers understand the differences between the terminology mentioned above, a brief definition would not go amiss.Huaqiao: Originally, this term meant those Chinese who spend some time abroad, but it does not include settlers. Nowadays, it simply refers to Chinese who have the permanent right to reside in their adopted country but retain their Chinese citizenship.
Huaren: This refers to the Chinese who have settled down somewhere outside China and have also obtained foreign citizenship.
Huayi: Chinese descendants who were born and have grown up outside of China.
Discussions are continually cropping up as to the exact definitions of the concepts listed above.
In December of 1994, during the keynote lecture of 'The Last Half Century of Chinese Overseas' conference, Wang, a leading scholar in this area, proposed his updated opinion on the Chinese overseas: since all countries which receive migrants have similar expectations of their new citizens, neither Huaqiao nor Huaren would adequately convey the idea of migrants who have been accepted as nationals of their new countries. This argument immediately drew criticism from various scholars in China, who stressed that neither Huaqiao nor Huaren are dated; instead, there is no concept better than these two to portray the general characteristics of the Chinese abroad.
This debate is complicated by a new concept that is becoming popular among some Western scholars: the Chinese diaspora. The term 'overseas Chinese' is avoided by some scholars because it 'touches on political sensitivities if extended to include Taiwan.' When they 'are not concerned with the boundaries of sovereignty claims or with distinctions of citizenship or with whether the sojourn abroad is seen as temporary or permanent,' the term 'Chinese diaspora' is selected. The Chinese diaspora is characterized by multiplex and varied connections of family, kinship, commerce, sentiments about their native place in China, shared memberships in transnational organizations and so on.
Why not?
The selection of a concept and its corresponding term mirrors the user's principal opinion of the general characteristics of the Chinese abroad. Therefore, rather than limiting the discussions to terminology definitions, I shall explain why I have selected the term 'Chinese immigrants' for my study target even though Huaqiao has been a common, self-assumed image of the Chinese in the Netherlands.
My studies have shown, although few cherish short-term sojourning, many Chinese in the Netherlands, whether they have become naturalized as Dutch citizens or retain their Chinese nationality, prefer to call themselves Huaqiao. When asked why they have identified themselves as Huaqiao, very often the interviewees would ask me in reply 'Why not?' The reasons behind this phenomenon can be enumerated as follows.
First, it is a reflection of the dominance of first-generation immigrants in Chinese communities in the Netherlands. Before they emigrated, many knew from their own experiences that by all government administrations in China (both on the mainland and in Taiwan) that deal with the affairs of overseas Chinese they have been labelled Huaqiao. Therefore, it is logical that they simply identify themselves as Huaqiao because they are now abroad. Many do not know, and do not care, about the differences between Huaqiao, Huaren, and Huayi.
Secondly, it is a reflection of the tolerant social surroundings in which the Chinese in the Netherlands live. The Netherlands has a tradition of tolerance towards diverse opinions, various religions, and other cultures. In addition, the Chinese immigrants in the Netherlands have only formed an insignificant part of the population, and their share of the Dutch economy is negligible.
Finally, it is a reflection of 'flexible citizenship.' According to the definition made by Ong, 'flexible citizenship' is a production of the current trend of globalization, which has made economic calculation a major element in diasporic subjects' choice of citizenship. Nowadays, it has become a popular phenomenon that the citizenship to a certain degree is a strategy that some migrants are using to take advantage of political and economic conditions in different parts of the world. In the case of the Chinese in the Netherlands, it has been noted that some Chinese associations in the Netherlands not only have their associations titled Huaqiao, but publicly proclaim that they are a 'patriotic overseas Chinese association.' Nevertheless, their patriotic complex is nothing more than an imaginary sense that, in Anderson's words, is just 'a politics without responsibility or accountability' or 'long-distance nationalism'. In effect, it is important to recognize the potential meaning of this phenomenon: they want to gain social elevation in the Netherlands from the strength and prosperity of China.
In Chinese, the term yimin covers all the meanings expressed by the words migration, migrant, immigration, immigrate, immigrant, emigration, emigrate, and emigrant in English. Nevertheless, the Chinese term yimin has an added connotation not expressed in any of the English words. It also suggests a compulsory migration; in other words, people moving away from their homes because of official policy. This is one of the principal reasons that in China the special subject related to the Chinese abroad studies has been named as 'Huaqiao-Huaren Studies,' rather than 'Chinese Migrants Studies.' Nevertheless, I have selected neither Huaqiao nor Huaren, but have opted instead for the concept of 'Chinese immigrants' because it is based on an important consideration that the phenomenon of the Chinese 'immigrant group' is examined from the starting point of the receiving country.
References, a.o.:
Anderson, Benedict R. O'G. 1992. Long-distance Nationalism. CASA.
Ong, Aihwa. 1998. 'Flexible citizenship among Chinese cosmopolitans,' in Cosmopoliting: Thinking and Feeling Beyond the Nation, ed. Pheng Cheah & Bruce Robbins, Uminn Press.
Pieke, Frank & Gregor Benton. 1998. 'The Chinese in the Netherlands.' In The Chinese in Europe, eds., Benton & Pieke, Macmillan Press, pp.125-167.
Wang, Gungwu. 1998. 'Upgrading the migrant: neither Huaqiao nor Huaren'. In The Last Half Century of Chinese Overseas, ed., Sinn, Hong Kong University Press, pp. 15-33.
Zhujia. 1996. 'Youguan huawai Huaren chengwei zhi yilun' [Discussions on how to name the Chinese abroad]. In Huaren shehui yu zhongxiang huiguan, pp. 47-59.
Dr Li Minghuan is attached to CASA, Amsterdam and to the IIAS as an individual research fellow. She can be reached at e-mail: li@pscw.uva.nl.